Edge to edge sewing machine attachments



.May 25, 1943. D. c. EVERITT I EDGE TO EDGE SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENTSFiled Oct. 18, 1941 IN\ IENTOR A TOR NEY.

Patented May 25, 1943 warren STATES FATENT OFFICE EDGE TO 'EDGE SEWINGMACHINE ATTACHIVIENTS David C. Everitt, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application ctober'18, 1941,'Serial No. 415,510

4 Claims. (Cl. 112-23) This invention relates to improvementsin edge toedge sewing machine attachments.

There are on the market standard forms of sewing machines known as edgeto edge sewing machines designed especially for connecting laterallyadjacent narrow strips of fabric or tape by means of zig zag stitching.While the available edge to edge sewing machines are satisfactory forcertain types of work, especially in connection with flat strips offabric, difficulties are encountered when it is attempted to use thesame for the edge to edge sewing of rounded braids and like bulky stripmaterial. Such difficulties are, moreover, pronounced in attempting theedge to edge sewing of rounded braids in convolute form for hat fabricsand like purposes.

With the above in mind it is, therefore, a primary object of the presentinvention to provide improved attachments for edge to edge sewingmachines to adapt such machines for efiicient and facile operation onrounded braids, and like bulky materials.

A further object of the invention is to provide attachments for an edgeto edge sewing machine including a grooved pressure foot which willengage and guide an outer secured convolution of rounded braid inrelation to an inwardly fed braid strand for proper edge to edge sewingof the same.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a grooved pressure footfor an edge to edge sewing machine which holds adjacent braid strandsfirmly in such positions and relationships that In the accompanyingdrawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same partsin all of the views:

Fig. 1 is an end view of anedge to-edge sewing machine head equippedwith the improved attachments;

Fig.2 is a fragmentary top view of the sewing machine head with work inproper position engaged by the improved attachments;

Fig. -3 is a fragmentary detail sectional view wtaken on line 3--3 ofFig. 2 and showing the needle in one positionperforming zig zag or edgeto edge stitching;

Fig. 4 is a similar detail sectional view showing the needle in anotherposition;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the improved pressure foot with which the sewingmachine-is equipped; and

Fig. 6 is an inverted plan viewthereof.

Referring now moreparticularly to the drawing it wall appear that thehead portion of an edge to edge sewing machine is indicated generally bythe numeral [0. The mechanism of the sewing machine per se is ofconventional structure and includes means for vertically reciprocatingthe needle bar H and needle l2 carried thereby in a slightly orbitalpath. Other conventionally actuated parts include a pressure foot 13dethe sewing machine'needle will correctly engage and pass throughproper portions of the adjacent braid strands.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable andresilient strand guide finger attachment for edge to edge sewingmachines which functions to exert a desired drag and flattening pressureon an inwardly fed braid strand to properly position the same for sewingpurposes and to insure passage of the sewing needle through side edgeportions of the strand.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved edge to edgesewing machine attachments which are of very simple construction, arestrong and durable, are inexpensive to manufacture and install, and arewell adapted for purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of theimproved edge to edge sewing machine attachments, and their parts andcombinations asset forthzin the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

the i a feed dog I5.

In the operation of edge to edge sewing machines it is contemplated thata new strand or extent of material be secured to an adjacent strand. Thelatter strand may be the outer convolution, row, or strip in a partiallyassembled fabric. It is the practice for the machine operator to moveand manipulate the partially assembled fabric while the new strand orextent of material is being fed into'the machine and secured by sewing.While this practice and the usual equipment on an edge to edge sewingmachine permits expeditious sewing when the material is relatively flat,it is not practical when the use of round braids or other bulky andrelatively squashy materials is attempted. This is because the properside-wise relationship between the braids to be joined can not bemaintained due to slippage and improper engagement with the under faceof the pressure foot of the machine, and the tendency of the needle topene trate the braids too centrally.

The present invention seeks to eliminate the attachments for edge toedge sewing machines adapting said machines to the proper handling ofrounded braid and bulky strip materials.

One of said improved attachments is the pressure foot 13. This pressurefoot is modified from standard by the provision of a pair of grooves I6and I! on the under face of its work portion. These grooves extendlength-wise of said foot portion and are relatively close together,being reduced at their inner end portions. The groove I1 is somewhatshorter than the proove l6. As will appear hereinafter the groove l6receives and guides a braid strand which has already been secured inassembled relationship and holds it relative to a new extent of braidwhich is to be secured thereto edge-wise by zig zag stitching.

25 is intended to frictionally bear and exert a drag on the infeed braidstrand.

In the operation of the sewing machine and improved attachments, theeificiency thereof is most pronounced when the edge to edge sewingoperations are being performed on relatively bulky and squashy roundbodied fibrous material braid strands, as shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawing.

As will be noted from Fig. 1 the inner end of the pressure foot isupwardly beveled. In shaping the work, as the sewing progresses, theoperators may turn or move the same and the reduced or beveled inner endof the pressure foot provides clearance for this purpose.

From Figs. 5 and 6 it will be observed that there is a slot between thefree ends of the legs of the foot I3 adjacent which the needlereciprocates during sewing operations. On the underside of the foot,alined with and extending rearwardly from the'slot is a ridge whichforms side walls for both of the grooves l6 and I! rearwardly of theslot. The slot, in effect, serves to reduce the width of the groovesthereadjacent and the elimination of the ridge at the slot re sults inthe inner margins, of the grooves adjacent the slot being substantiallyunobstructed.

As will appear hereinafter the braid strands to be laterally joined bystitching are relatively bulky and squashy. A braid strand 28a which isto be joined to a braid strand 28b is led to the pressure foot 13 from aposition slightly divergent 'to that of the strand 28b, the latter beinglodged within the pressure foot groove l6 and the former being engagedby the pressure foot groove H. In the neighborhood of the slot betweenthe free ends of the legs of the pressure foot the strands are crowdedinto mutual contact and this is where the needle reciprocates; so thatcrowding together of the strands in this region permits the needle toeffectively engage proper side edge portions of the strands forconnection by edge to edge sewing. Thereafter the joined strands areengaged and firmly held in the rearward extents of the grooves I6 and ITand the ridge lodges in the line of connection between the braidstrands.

The sewing machine also includes an adjustabiy. mounted sleeve block I8which is pivotal in a vertical plane on a pivot bolt IS. A bore in saidblock longitudinally adjustably receives the shank of an improved guidefinger 2|. The guide finger is secured in a desired position oflongitudinal and angular adjustment by means of a pivotal lever arm 22carrying and operating a cam 23. The cam is housed within a boss portionof the block l8 and when in certain positions eccentric edge portions ofthe cam will impinge against the guide finger-shank, as in Fig. 2. Thefree end portion of the guide finger 2| is formed with a right angularextension arm 24.

*said arm portion is reduced and merges into a yielding, spring metalstrip 25 which is slightly bowed. When properly adjusted and positionedthe yielding extension strip 25 is positioned immediately over theinfeed strand guide channel which is provided between fixed verticalplate elements 26 and 21 on themachine. Said strip ,zig-zag stitches 29.

In said view of the drawing the fragment of fabric 28 has been made upby the edge to edge sewing of a fibrous, round-bodied braid strand 28a,fed into the sewing machine from a source. In the exemplification shownthe fabric is formed of convolutions wherein each convolution is securedto its laterally adjacent convolutions by The fabric is shaped andadvanced by hand as the sewing and securement progresses. It will beobserved that it is necessary to maintain a relatively fixed or stablerela tionship as between the outermost assembled convolution 28b of thefabric and the strand 28a being sewed. It is essential that the materialand strands do not slip while held and engaged under the pressure foot[3 and it is furthermore desirable during oscillating reciprocations ofthe needle [2 that the adjacent strands 28a and 28b be held so that theneedle will alternately pierce and carry the sewing thread 30 throughportions of said strands relatively close to the adjacent sides of thesame. In these particulars the eificacy of the improved attachments l3and 2| becomes of greatest value. It will be noted from Figs. 3, and 4that the outer convolution 28b of the formed fabric 28 is engagedbetween the feed dog l5 and the pressure foot I3, being accommodated andheld in the groove IS on the bottom face of the pressure foot. Likewise,the new infeed strand 28a, in the process of being sewed to the fabric,is held between the feed dog and the pressure foot and adjacent theneedle said strand lodges in the groove ll of the pressure foot. Withthe adjacent strands thus being held in the grooves l6 and IT they arecrowded into close side by side relation during the sewing operationsand the portions of the strands being sewed can not slip out of properposition, even if the formed fabric is moved. The yieldable extension 25on the braid guide finger bears on and frictionally engages the strand28a as it is being advanced toward the needle. This prevents rufiiing orimproper in-feeding, maintains said strand in proper position incooperation with the groove [6, and somewhat flattens the relativelybulky strand 28a in order that the needle may pierce a side edge portionof the same rather than a medial portion.

It should be mentioned that in edge to edge sewing operations the needlereciprocates upwardly and downwardly alternately. It also oscillatesside-wise so that on one downward movement it will pierce the innerstrand 28b and on the next downward movement it will pierce the outerstrand 28a, and so on, as depicted in Figs. 3 and 4, and resulting inthe line of zig-zag stitching shown.

The improved edge to edge sewing machine attachments are of simple andnovel construction, are effective in operation, and are well adapted forthe purposes described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In a sewing machine including a threadcarrying, reciprocating needlehaving lateral vibrations transverse to the line of feed, a pressurefoot having mounting means at one end and having a free end andengageable with braid strands which are divergent forwardly of saidfoot, said foot at its free end also having a pair of adjacent legswhose under surfaces form work engaging faces, there being a slotbetween the free end portions of the legs adjacent which the needlereciprocates for sewing operations, the under surfaces of said legshaving closely adjacent braid receiving grooves therein extending fromthe free ends cf the legs toward the mounted end of the foot, the extentof the grooves toward the mounted end of the foot being separated by aridge which is in longitudinal alinement with said slot and whichterminates at said slot, said ridge forming side walls for both grooves,said slot having a width which is substantially equal to the width ofthe base of the forwardend of the ridge whereby the inner margins of thegrooves adjacent the slot are substantially unobstructed to causestrands in the two grooves to be crowded into contact with one anotheralong a line extending midway of the slot and ridge.

2. In a sewing machine including a threadcarrying, reciprocating needlehaving lateral vibrations transverse to the line of feed, a pressurefoot having mounting means at one end and having a free end andengageable with braid strands which are divergent forwardly of saidfoot, said foot at its free end also having a pair of adjacent legs ofdifierent lengths whose under sur faces form work engaging faces, therebeing a slot between the free end portions of the legs adjacent whichthe needle reciprocates for sewing operations, the under surfaces ofsaid legs having closely adjacent braid receiving grooves thereinextending from the free ends of the legs toward the mounted end of thefoot, the extent of the grooves toward the mounted end of the foot beingseparated by a ridge which is in longitudinal alinement with said slotand which terminates at said slot, said ridge forming side walls forboth grooves, said slot having a width which is substantially equal tothe Width of the base of the forward end of the ridge whereby the innermargins of the grooves adjacent the slot are substantially unobstructedto cause strands in the two grooves to be crowded into contact with oneanother along a line extending midway of the slot and ridge, and astrand guide finger overlying and engaging a portion of one of the braidstrands forwardly of the pressure foot to prevent displacement of saidstrand and to aid in directing it toward the groove in the shorter legof the pressure foot.

3. In a sewing machine including a thread carrying, reciprocating needlehaving lateral vibrations transverse to the line of feed, a pressurefoot having mounting means at one end and having a free end andengageable with braid strands which are divergent forwardly of saidfoot, said foot at its free end also having apair of adjacent legs ofdifferent lengths whose under surfaces form work engaging faces, therebeing a slot between the free end portions of the legs adjacent whichthe needle reciprocates for sewing operations, the under surfaces ofsaid legs having closely adjacent braid receiving grooves thereinextending from the free ends of the legs toward the mounted end of thefoot, said grooves being of arcuate form in cross-section and havingcross-sectional areas less than those of deformable strands lodgedtherein, the extent of the grooves toward the mounted end of the footbeing separated by a ridge which is in longitudinal alinement with saidslot and which terminates at said slot, said ridge forming side wallsfor both grooves ,said slot having a width which is substantially equalto the width of the base of the forward end of the ridge whereby theinner margins of the grooves adjacent the slot are substantiallyunobstructed to cause strands in the two grooves to be crowded intocontact with one another along a line extending midway of the slot andridge, and a strand guide finger overlying and engaging a portion of oneof the braid strands forwardly of the pressure foot to preventdisplacement of said strand and to aid in directing it toward the propergroove in said pressure foot.

4. In a sewing machine including a threadcarrying, reciprocating needlehaving lateral vibrations transverse to the line of feed, a pressurefoot having mounting means at one end and having a free end andengageable with braid strands which are divergent forwardly of saidfoot, said foot at its free end also having a pair of adjacent legs ofdifferent lengths whose under surfaces form work engaging faces, theunder surface of said foot adjacent its mounted end being upwardlybeveled, there being a slot between the free end portions of the legsadjacent which the needle reciprocates for sewing operations, the undersurfaces of said legs having closely adjacent braid receiving groovestherein extending from the free ends of the legs toward the mounted endof the foot, the extent of the grooves toward the mounted end of thefoot being separated by a ridge which is in longitudinal alinement withsaid slot and which terminates at said slot, said ridge forming sidewalls for both grooves, said slot having a width which is substantiallyequal to the width of the base of the forward end of the ridge wherebythe inner margins of the grooves adjacent the slot are substantiallyunobstructed to cause strands in the two grooves to be crowded intocontact with one another along a line extending midway of the slot andridge, and a strand guide finger overlying and engaging a portion of oneof the braid strands forwardly of the pressure foot to preventdisplacement of said strand and to aid in directing it toward the propergroove in said pressure foot.

DAVID C. EVERITT.

